How to Build Realistic Background - Desert Theme

[@ericwoodard2220]

“Due to technical difficulties I forgot to hit play” 😂😂😂 beautiful set up, awesome job

[@jayclark1046]

Man it looks GOOD I’m gonna get my daughters bearded dragon habitat going and THANK you you sure made it doable😊

[@suzanslayton3308]

Great art work. I'm so glad I found your site. I'm getting ready to start a wall, but I haven't seen people use the spray foam. This is great, I could see the structure before it was even carved. I also have an air brush and can't wait to use. Thank you for sharing, and teaching. 😁

[@Cambart1]

Happy to help. I have learnt a lot over the past year of building and always happy to share my experiences.

[@laurierikke5619]

Hi Cam. Thank you so much for sharing your methods, mistakes, and masterpieces. I am going to be building a desert themed, foam-based background for the bearded dragon that I do not yet have. You have given me a lot of inspiration and I can't wait to get started! - Laurie, Mojave Desert, U.S.

[@Cambart1]

Glad you learnt something from my videos. Be sure to watch my more recent videos to see updates techniques etc that I’ve tried. Side not the product I use isn’t available in the US but from what I’ve been told Dryloc is similar (we can’t get that in aus so can’t confirm) Good luck with your build

[@turtsmcgee189]

Cam you are a master of your craft! Hope to try out some of your techniques on my yellow Ackie's enclosure in the near future🦎 Keep up the great work!

[@Cambart1]

Thanks mate. Would love to see your progress

[@thecampria]

Dude it's pretty

[@lorimartin2612]

Looks great! I stink at making rocks out of the spray foam so I'm using insulation foam for my beardie's enclosure now!

[@Cambart1]

Practice practice practice. I’m still learning on every build I do

[@darrenboswell5809]

Great videos and Im enjoying learning about this process. I did 4 x 4ft vivarium's and 2 x 6ft vivarium's last year and I was over it after that but could never have my animals in a minimalistic enclosure again, Im addicted. I allow myself 3-4 weeks to complete a 4ft viv and that seems to be about it. I will change to the roof tile pointing for my next build. I used mortar with oxide for colour and im finding its cracking.

[@Cambart1]

Yeah mate I’ve tried a few different options in the past. Thanks to a good mate of mine I was out onto the pointing and won’t go back now. It’s simple to work with and can achieve many different textures depending on how you finish it.

[@BeachesScalyBeasts]

Nice one dude! Congrats on 200 subs!

[@Cambart1]

Thanks mate. Appreciate the support

[@derekcrnkovic7981]

Great work man!!! You have inspired me to do a custom build for my beardie. How long do you let the grout dry in between coats? Keep up the sweet builds!! Cheers

[@craigs4164]

Fantastic work.

[@carlosnunes5717]

Just great, congrats

[@KatesCanadaClips]

Hey cam - can you do an update on the frog tank? I'd love to see how it's holding up with the water/bio set up

[@Cambart1]

Hey Kate, I was planning on doing a video of all my animals and their setups. I do post updates on my Facebook page more regularly. But definitely a video option

[@Cambart1]

I’ve added some mosses now which had changed the look entirely.

[@Dani-f3p2y]

What paint and stuff do you use?

[@jasonstaveley4889]

Very nice work !! Do you put a clear coat at the end on top pf everything ? Like silasec waterproofer?? I'm in the process of building mine right now

[@Cambart1]

Thanks you. No I don’t seal it with anything. The coating I use holds up excellent to water, cleaning and animals.

[@lilianephilippen5189]

Love this one!!!

[@יהונתןפרץ-ל5ק]

Hi, my English is not that good, so I would like to know what material you use for the coating? Is it white grout concrete like Sika 214? And is the color red oxide of a tile roof? When do you add sand for the texture? And do you do all the layers the same? I would really appreciate the help. Thanks!

[@Cambart1]

I use a product called roof tile pointing. It’s what Australians use to seal the joints in roof tile ridge cappings. This is only available in Australia from what I’ve been told The red oxide is just a concrete oxide used to change the colour of concrete. I believe the one I used is terracotta colour in this build First layer I add a small amount of water to the mix when adding the oxide. This allows the first coat to spread better. I then add another 2-3 coats each with less water or as needed.

[@יהונתןפרץ-ל5ק]

You now if graout is good?

[@Cambart1]

Grout works yes. It just doesn’t have the flexibility of the other stuff I used. I began building with grout and have one of my own enclosures made with grout with no problem.

[@Von_Dechau]

Really amazing work, thanks for sharing it :) Would really love to see you make a larger enclosure for a Carpet Python.

[@Cambart1]

Good news my next video is for a Jungle Python and it’s a 1200 tall 900 wide 700 deep melamine enclosure. Has multiple levels for climbing and basking, 2 caves (one removable and one fixed) Follow my Facebook page Cam’s Custom Backgrounds for progress shots before the video is released.

[@Von_Dechau]

@@Cambart1 Fantastic, I will for sure follow both you tube and facebook for updates on that Thanks a lot for awesome content

[@sheilaewen1233]

How do you clean it when it’s built in? I’m doing a build now and I’m not sure about cleaning the poo? Does it wipe easily?

[@Cambart1]

Cleans very easily. Just use warm water and a soft bristle brush, dab dry with paper towel then use what ever reptile cleaner you use.

[@silvajay6443]

mighty car mods 👍👍

[@tmwdnb]

Brilliant! I am creating a desert terra as we speak, very similar to yours. This one is for our beardie George and is inspired by Hancock Gorge in Karijini National Park. Do you have any suggestions on local desert plants/grass/weeds that are safe to use? I'm aiming for a naturalistic approach but most of the regular plants in the hobby aren't very desert-y. Keep up the great work with the build videos! Your tips on colouring were helpful - especially the dark "wash".

[@Cambart1]

Thank you. It’s hard to find live plants that a bearded dragon won’t eat haha. I haven’t done an arid bio active tank yet but a great mate of mine Beaches Scaly Beasts has 2 new videos on his channel of his arid builds. Glad I could help you

[@jamiepowter5124]

Hey man great work, I’m currently making basking rock platforms I’m guessing all the materials you use is 100% safe for bearded dragons

[@Cambart1]

Yeah mate all safe. Only if ingested can cause stomach problems the same as eating sand or some thing like that.

[@jackpattison9986]

What do you carve the expanda foam with? You have a hot wire cutter but what else? And what do you put on the foam?

[@Cambart1]

I just use a fine serrated steak knife to carve the expanding foam. I also have a dremel with various bits I use in some builds also. Foam is covered in roof tile pointing. I show what it is in my previous video.

[@jackpattison9986]

@@Cambart1 thanks

[@shawnobrien6584]

What foam do you use can and brick plz and thank you

[@Cambart1]

Use to use expanding foam but went to an insulation foam because it was more dense and held shape better.

[@jarredjackson131]

Hi love your work and going to try do my own. What do you use as your 1st layer. As I currently used grout. Thanks

[@Cambart1]

That’s mate. I use the roof tile pointing for all coats. In my other videos I show the products and steps on how I build them.

[@jraym17]

Hey cam, just wondering what sand you used in this build? Is it just play sand from bunnings?

[@Cambart1]

Hey mate nah it’s URS Red Desert Sand I got from a reptile store. I found it to be darker than most other reptile sands

[@jraym17]

Thanks appreciate your time @@Cambart1

[@SandInkGamingExp]

Hey mate loving the vids, where do you buy your insulation foam from, what brand and how much is it usually?

[@Cambart1]

All the material I use is from Bunnings You can use either the baston brand (green) or the knauf brand (pinkish)

[@24hrntsy38]

hiya buddy was wondering what sort of cement that is or what do you recommend l could get as l live in the uk and we dont have none toxic cement

[@Cambart1]

Hey mate. I’m not sure what’s available to use in the uk sorry.

[@Dani-f3p2y]

What’s the tool for scraping?

[@Cambart1]

@@Dani-f3p2y not sure what tool you’re referring to but only one I can think of that I scrape with is a steak knife

[@teamgriffin4045]

I laughed when I heard that piano during the time lapse lol

[@Cambart1]

🤣🤣 I originally had gunshots but it sounded tacky haha.

[@nickstarantulas]

What are you using for that red background?

[@Cambart1]

Colours are changed using concrete oxides in the coating. This was brick red

[@gasparfekete-kepes9241]

Hi! what paint do you use?

[@Cambart1]

I just use acrylic, water based paints

[@Dani-f3p2y]

Cam where are you located??

[@Cambart1]

@@Dani-f3p2y Shellharbour NSW

[@jasonb4350]

Do you seal the background with anything? If so what do you use?

[@Cambart1]

No I dont seal it with anything. The product I use to coat is a highly water resistant product. I just make sure messes are cleaned up promptly to avoid staining